1. Field of the Invention
The process of the present invention relates to treatment of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for treating a waste stream containing hazardous and non-hazardous components, through increasing the temperature of the waste stream over a given period of time to desirable temperatures, so as to reduce the stream to a liquid and gaseous state, so that various components can be removed from the stream at particular temperatures, and may be condensed for storage.
2. General Background
In various industries such as the oil and gas industry, oil and gas refinery production, and chemical manufacturing industries, which, through their operation, produce waste stream of materials utilized in the industry, there is an ever increasing problem of the treatment of these waste streams in order to properly dispose of components which are harmful to the environment, and in order to recover components which may be useful when recovered. The Environmental Protection Agency, through their guidelines, have characterized waste as either hazardous waste Class 1, or non-hazardous waste Class 2.
For example, in the field of refining oil and natural gas, as well as the condensate, which is recovered during the process of refining the waste stream, there are certain components of the waste stream which cannot be refined or processed, and which are then stored in large pits and may cause possible environment problems in the future due to the process of leaking into the water table adjacent the pits. In fact, most petro-chemical waste involved heavily ladened volatile organic compounds (or oil), which is an emulsion with the inert earth and other chemical compounds which become hazardous to the environment particularly from emissions through evaporation or from leakage through soil and going into the drinking water.
Other industries have confronted the problem of heavy metals contained in the waste stream, such as cadmium, arsenic, or lead, which become a serious threat to our environment as attempts are made to dispose of these wastes under proper environmental guidelines.
Heretofore, there has not been a process which could properly treat a waste stream, wherein the stream is subjected to various degrees of heat, over certain period of times, so that the components in the stream are volatized at particular temperatures, and may then be recondensed into a recoverable and reusable component, or may be condensed as a hazardous material which must be placed in storage and moved as a source of harm to the environment. The process of the present invention addresses a new and improved method of treatment of such a waste stream, which solves the problems that are being confronted in the present state of the art.
It is known in the art that there is provided a conveyor system for moving oil well cuttings through a chamber wherein the cuttings are fired by flames in order to drive them into the ashen state and thus be removed as dry cuttings or dry waste. The shortcoming of this particular apparatus when the open flame or oxidation occurs near the cite of the borehole creates an extremely hazardous situation. Furthermore, and perhaps even worse, the oxidation process can actually serve as a catalyst to form chemical compounds, thus not in-line with the separation process in reducing the waste, but in line with a now rejoining process of chemical catalyst of oxidation during the process of oxidizing or the incineration process.
Several patents have been granted to the present inventor, which cover the incineration of oil well cuttings during waste recovery.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,283, entitled "A System For Extracting Contaminants And Hydrocarbons From Cutting Waste In Oil Well Drilling", relate to the incineration of oil well cuttings through the use of laterally disposed augers where the cuttings are incinerated prior to being placed into waste containers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,726,301, entitled "A System For Extracting Contaminants And Hydrocarbons From Cutting Waste In Oil Well Drilling", also relates to an improvement of the process in the '283 patent, in that the gas released from the incineration process is passed through a heat exchanger, in order to recondense some of the gaseous waste, rather than release the waste to atmosphere.
Furthermore, there are several applications pending, by the same inventor, which relate to further refinements of the system, i.e., the use of a system to condense the gaseous waste, so that the oil contained in the vapors may be separated from any water and collected for use, and the second application which relates to the use of a non-toxic and inert gas medium during the process of burning the waste, so that no incineration takes place, and the wastes are dried in a relatively non-combustion free atmosphere.
However, it is suggested with the present invention, that the systems used in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,606,283, and 4,726,301, can additionally be used for refining, production, and transportation of waste in the petro-chemical industry, together with other industries. Due to innovative technological advancements which are recited in this application, the technology can now be utilized to separate hazardous waste being classified under the Superfund by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and to reduce the actual waste, thereby making it economical and more feasible to manage.